A man in his 40s has been arrested for years of drug dealing in Hoeryong, North Hamgyong province.
According to a Daily NK source in North Hamgyong province recently, the suspect—identified only as Mr. A, originally from Hamhung in South Hamgyong province—was arrested by Hoeryong police on March 20 for distributing methamphetamine, known locally as “pingdu.”
Hoeryong police dispatched officers to A’s hometown of Hamhung to investigate and apprehend everyone involved in the drug network. However, news of A’s arrest had already reached Hamhung, causing most of his associates to disappear.
“More than ten people were connected to A,” the source said. “When A was arrested, everyone involved in the pingdu distribution deleted their phone contacts and fled.”
Furthermore, A refused to reveal his accomplices’ identities during police interrogation.
“So far, there’s been no report of anyone connected to A being arrested,” the source said. “It seems they can’t link A to anyone either above or below him in the network.”
Drug dealers in North Korea typically operate with multiple accomplices across different regions, but with all of A’s associates vanishing after his arrest, Hoeryong police have struggled to make progress in their investigation.
Nevertheless, the city’s police chief has taken a firm stance, directing officers to “track down and apprehend everyone involved in the drug dealing, even if it takes a year or two.”
Hoeryong residents who learned about the incident have responded cynically.
“The police talk as if they’re victorious generals for catching a single pingdu dealer,” they mock. “With even officials using drugs, they won’t arrest anyone meaningful.”
In North Korea, party officials, police, and even state security agents often use or distribute drugs, leading locals to criticize the Hoeryong police’s claims that they would arrest everyone connected to drug trafficking, the source explained.
“Dealing pingdu is nearly impossible without law enforcement connections, so when city police claim they’ll completely expose the distribution network and punish everyone involved, people naturally question whether that’s actually possible,” he concluded.
April 16, 2025 at 12:39PM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)